Water Reporters watch out for Casco Bay all year long • Friends of Casco Bay

We launched our Water Reporter Observing Network in July. Since then, our volunteer Water Reporters have been reporting the good, the bad, and the ugly of what they have been seeing out on the Bay. Here are some recent examples:

We depend on our ever-expanding network of Water Reporters to help us keep an eye on the Bay:

reporting problems, such as pollution or outbreaks of nuisance algal blooms,

commenting on daily changes in the Bay from tides to the character of the water, and

sharing the beauty of the Bay and its diverse plant and animal life.

Water Reporter is a worldwide social network that connects individuals with organizations like ours that are actively working to protect and improve water quality.

By using the Water Reporter app on their smartphones or tablets, Volunteers provide an instant record of their observation with a photo, the location, and the time. We can then use the app to respond and let you know what actions we took.

The Water Reporter app is an awesome way to record what is happening around our beautiful but changing Bay.

If you aren’t a Water Reporter already, we invite you to join Friends of Casco Bay’s Observing Network at cascobay.org /water-reporter. Each submission is displayed on a map, which can be seen on the sign-up page. Friends of Casco Bay Staff is notified of sightings. You can find your own posts, and you can see and comment on what others are observing around the Bay.

Sandy M shared this post on September 11th near East End Beach:

“Just more plastic junk, but c’mon,”

Our Community Engagement Coordinator Sarah Lyman responded, remarking on how timely his observation was. “Good thing the International Coastal Cleanup day is on September 15th, 2018.”

Gerry G posted, “Back Cove looks pretty good a few hours after high tide.”

We are especially interested in how tides, storm surges, and sea level rise will impact the coastline. We encourage observers to catalogue photos of different tidal and weather conditions at the same location over time.

Friends of Casco Bay Staffer Will Everitt wrote, “Today was a #ColorbyNumbersday so I measured color at #Portland‘s East End boat launch. Green water, 6 to 8 on the Forel-Ule scale.”

Many of our Volunteers also participate in our Color by Numbers citizen science project. They use the EyeOnWater – Color app to compare the color of the water against a century-old oceanographic tool called the Forel-Ule color scale. Thisindex of 21 colors—from blue to brown—measures color as a revealing indicator of the health of oceans and lakes.

We like to see the beautiful photos, too! Sandy M shared this post of the September 22nd sunset.